'Payback': Turkey launches Syria air strikes to avenge Istanbul bombing

urkey sent F-16 fighter jets to bomb towns in northern Syria and Iraq in a new military offensive to avenge the bombing in Istanbul last week. 

Turkey's Defence Minister Hulusi Akar chairs a new air operation in northern regions of Iraq and Syria - AFP© AFP

The Turkish defence ministry posted the message “Payback!” alongside a photo of a jet shortly after the air strikes targeted Kurdish militias.

The fresh operation risked raising tensions with the US, a Nato ally, which relied heavily on Kurdish support to defeat Isis.

Washington has repeatedly warned Ankara against campaigns in Iraq and Syria.

The explosion last Sunday in a busy pedestrian street in central Istanbul killed six people and injured more than 80. While no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, Ankara quickly blamed it on the PKK, a banned Kurdish group.

The Turkish defence ministry said that they had destroyed 89 targets, including shelters, tunnels and ammunition depots, citing their right to self-defence as the reason behind launching Operation Claw-Sword. Some of the targets were members of Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), what Ankara believes is the Syrian affiliate of the PKK.

While both Washington and Anakara have designated the PKK as a terrorist organisation, their views differ when it comes to the YPG who made up a large component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the umbrella group of predominantly Kurdish local allies that were fundamental to the US-led fight to defeat Isis.

According to the SDF, 11 civilians were killed in the Turkish bombardment of north and east Syria, including one journalist, and a further six were injured. The strikes also killed 15 Syrian regime soldiers, the statement said, though Damascus did not immediately confirm this.

While the Turkish defence minister said that all steps had been taken to minimise damage to civilian infrastructure and only “terrorists” and military structures were targeted, the SDF claimed that a hospital, grain silos and power station were taken out by the bombardment.

The PKK did not immediately release details of casualties or damage following the bombing in northern Iraq.

President Erdogan’s new operation comes ahead of a general election in June that will see him heavily leaning on his nationalist support base. 

Syrian Democratic Forces vow to retaliate 

The SDF vowed retaliation against Turkey following the attack. “They have killed many of our people, and we will retaliate in the way that allies of Isis and Al-Nusra understand,” they said in a statement.

Mazloum Abdi, General Commander of the SDF, on Sunday called on families to remain at home for their safety. “We are making every effort to avoid a major catastrophe. If war erupts, all will be affected,” he warned.

Turkey is holding 17 people in pre-trial detention over the Istanbul bombing, including a 23-year-old Kurdish-Syrian woman who they believe planted the bomb.